A 
GOOD 

1AMARITAN 


MARY 
RAYMOND 
SHIPMAN 
ANDREWS 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 
WILLIAM  P.  WREDEN 


A  GOOD  SAMARITAN 


That'll  get  even  Webster's  Union  for  chargin 
me  two  cents  for  '  soon,' "  he  chuckled 


A  GOOD  SAMARITAN 

BY 
MARY  RAYMOND  SHIPMAN  ANDREWS 


Illustrated  by  Charlotte  Harding 


NEW  YORK 

McCLURE,  PHILLIPS  &  CO. 
MCMVI 


Copyright  1906 
By  McClure,  Phillips  &  Co. 


Copyright  1904,  by  The  S.  S.  McClure  Co. 


I    •>-» 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

"That'll  get  even  Webster's  Union  for 
chargin'  me  two  cents  for  '50071," 

he  chuckled      ......     Frontispiece 

Facing 
page 

"Reeky,"  he  bubbled,  "good  old  Reeky 

-bes' fren' ev' had"       ....      8 

"Who's  your  friend,  Billy?"    ...     10 

"  Thank  you  —  thank  you  very  much 
—  very,  very  much  —  old  rhi 
noceros"  18 

"  So  tired,"  he  remarked.  "  Go'n  have 
good  nap  now  " 20 

At  every  station  the  conductor  and  Rex 

had  to  reason  with  him    ....     32 

"  Could  he  —  couldn't  he  ?  "  .  38 


682962 


A  GOOD  SAMARITAN 

The  little  District  Telegraph  boy,  with  a  dirty 
face,  stood  at  the  edge  of  the  desk,  and,  rub 
bing  his  sleeve  across  his  cheek,  made  it  un 
necessarily  dirtier. 

"Answer,  sir?" 

"No --yes  —  wait  a  minute."  Reed  tore 
the  yellow  envelope  and  spread  the  telegram. 
It  read: 

"  Do  I  meet  you  at  your  office  or  at  Martin's 
and  what  time?" 

"The  devil!"  Reed  commented,  and  the 
boy  blinked  indifferently.  He  was  used  to 
stronger.  "The  casual  Rex  all  over!  Yes, 
boy,  there's  an  answer."  He  scribbled  rap 
idly,  and  the  two  lines  of  writing  said  this : 

"  Waiting  for  you  at  office  now.  Hurry  up. 
C.  Reed." 

He  fumbled  in  his  pocket  and  gave  the 
youngster  a  coin.  "  See  that  it's  sent  instantly 

3 


4  A   GOOD    SAMARITAN 

—  like  lightning.  Run!"  and  the  sharp  little 
son  of  New  York  was  off  before  the  last  word 
was  well  out. 

Half  an  hour  later,  to  Reed  waiting  at  his 
office  in  Broadway  impatiently,  there  strolled 
in  a  good-looking  and  leisurely  young  man 
with  black  clothes  on  his  back  and  peace  and 
good-will  on  his  face.  "Hope  I  haven't  kept 
you  waiting,  Carty,"  he  remarked  in  friendly 
tones.  "Plenty  of  time,  isn't  there?" 

"No,  there  isn't,"  his  cousin  answered,  and 
there  was  a  touch  of  snap  in  the  accent. 
"Really,  Rex,  you  ought  to  grow  up  and  be 
responsible.  It  was  distinctly  arranged  that 
you  should  call  here  for  me  at  six,  and  now 
it's  a  quarter  before  seven." 

"Couldn't  remember  the  hour  or  the  place 
to  save  my  life,"  the  younger  man  asserted 
earnestly.  "I'm  just  as  sorry  as  I  can  be, 
Carty.  You  see  I  did  remember  we  were  to 
dine  at  Martin's.  So  much  I  got  all  right  — 
and  that  was  something,  wasn't  it,  Carty?" 
he  inquired  with  an  air  of  wistful  pride,  and 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  5 

the  frown  on  the  face  of  the  other  dissolved 
in  laughter. 

"Rex,  there's  no  making  you  over  —  worse 
luck.  Come  along.  I've  got  to  go  home  to 
dress  after  dinner  you  see,  before  we  make  our 
call.  You'll  do,  on  the  strength  of  being  a 
theological  student." 

The  situation  was  this:  Reginald  Fairfax, 
in  his  last  year  at  the  Theological  Seminary, 
in  this  month  of  May,  and  lately  ordained,  had 
been  seriously  spoken  of  as  assistant  to  the 
Rector  of  the  great  church  of  St.  Eric's.  It 
was  a  remarkable  position  to  come  the  way  of 
an  undergraduate,  and  his  brilliant  record  at 
the  seminary  was  one  of  the  two  things  which 
made  it  possible.  The  other  was  the  friend 
ship  and  interest  of  his  cousin,  Carter  Reed, 
head  clerk  in  the  law  firm  of  Rush,  Walden, 
Lee  and  Lee,  whose  leading  member,  Judge 
Rush,  was  also  senior  warden  at  St.  Eric's. 
Reed  had  called  Judge  Rush's  attention  to 
his  young  cousin's  career,  and,  after  some  in 
quiry,  the  vestryman  had  asked  that  the 


6  A  GOOD   SAMARITAN 

young  man  should  be  brought  to  see  him,  to 
discuss  certain  questions  bearing  on  the  work. 
It  was  almost  equivalent  to  a  call  coming  from 
such  a  man,  and  Reed  was  delighted;  but 
here  his  troubles  began.  In  vain  did  he  hope 
fully  fix  date  after  date  with  the  slippery  Rex 
-  something  always  interfered.  Twice,  to 
his  knowledge,  it  had  been  the  chance  of  see 
ing  a  girl  from  Orange  which  had  thrown  over 
the  chance  of  seeing  the  man  of  influence  and 
power.  Once  the  evening  had  been  definitely 
arranged  with  Judge  Rush  himself,  and  Reed 
was  obliged  to  go  alone  and  report  that  the 
candidate  had  disappeared  into  a  tenement 
district  and  no  one  knew  where  to  find  him. 
The  effect  of  that  was  fortunately  good  - 
Judge  Rush  was  rather  pleased  than  otherwise 
that  a  young  clergyman  should  be  so  taken 
up  with  his  work  as  to  forget  his  interests. 
But  Reed  was  most  anxious  that  this  eve 
ning's  appointment  should  go  off  success 
fully,  while  Rex  was  as  light-hearted  as  a 
bird.  Any  one  would  have  thought  it  was 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  7 

Reed's  own  future  he  was  laboring  over  in 
stead  of  that  of  the  youngster  who  had  a  gift 
of  making  men  care  for  him  and  work  for  him 
without  effort  on  his  own  part. 

The  two  walked  down  Broadway  toward 
the  elevated  road,  Rex's  dark  eyes  gathering 
amusement  here  and  there  in  the  crowded 
way  as  they  went. 

"  Look  at  Billy  Strong  —  why  there's  Billy 
Strong  across  the  street.  Come  over  and 
I'll  present  you,  Carty.  Just  the  chap  you 
want  to  meet.  He's  a  great  athlete  —  on  the 
water-polo  team  of  the  New  York  Athletic 
Club,  you  know  —  as  much  of  an  old  sport 
as  you  are."  And  Reed  found  himself  swung 
across  and  standing  before  a  powerful,  big 
figure  of  a  man,  almost  before  he  could  answer. 
There  was  another  man  with  the  distinguished 
Billy,  and  Reed  had  not  regarded  the  two  for 
more  than  one  second  before  he  discovered 
that  they  were  both  in  a  distinct  state  of  in 
toxication.  In  fact,  Strong  proclaimed  the 
truth  at  once,  false  shame  cast  to  the  winds. 


8  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

He  threw  his  arm  about  Rex's  neck  with  a 
force  of  affection  which  almost  knocked  down 
the  quartette. 

"Reeky,"  he  bubbled,  "good  old  Reeky  — 
bes'  fren'  ev'  had  —  I'm  drunk,  Reeky  —  too 
bad.  We're  both  drunk.  Take's  home." 
Rex  glanced  at  his  cousin  in  dismay,  and 
Strong  repeated  his  invitation  cordially. 
"Take's  home,  Reeky,"  he  insisted,  with  the 
easy  air  of  a  man  who  confers  an  honor.  "  'S  up 
to  you,  Reeky." 

Rex  looked  at  his  frowning  cousin  doubt 
fully,  pleadingly. 

"It  almost  seems  as  if  it  was,  doesn't  it, 
Carty?"  he  said.  "We  can't  leave  them  like 
this." 

"I  don't  see  why  we  can't  —  I  can,"  Reed 
asserted.  "It's  none  of  our  business,  Rex, 
and  we  really  haven't  time  to  palaver.  Come 
along." 

The  gentle  soul  of  Rex  Fairfax  was  sur 
prisingly  firm.  "Carty,  they'd  be  arrested 
in  five  minutes,"  he  reasoned.  "It's  a  won- 


"Reeky"  he  bubbled,  "  good  old  Reeky  —  bes'  fren' 
ev'  had  " 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  9 

der  they  haven't  been  already.  And  Billy's 
people  —  it  would  break  their  hearts.  I 
know  some  of  them  well,  you  see.  I  was 
with  him  only  last  week  over  in  Orange." 

"Oh!"  Reed  groaned.  "That  Girl  from 
Orange  again."  He  opened  his  lips  once 
more  to  launch  nervous  English  against  this 
quixotism,  but  Strong  interposed. 

"'S  all  true,"  he  solemnly  stated,  fixing 
his  eyes  rollingly  on  Reed.  "Got  Orange- 
colored  cousin  what  break  Recky's  heart 
if  don't  take's  home.  Y'see--y'see — " 
The  President  of  these  United  States  in  a 
cabinet  council  would  have  stopped  to  listen 
to  him,  so  freighted  with  great  facts  coming 
was  his  confidential  manner.  :<Y'see  — 
wouldn't  tell  ev'body  —  only  you,"  and  he 
laid  a  mighty  hand  on  Reed's  shoulder.  "  I'm 
so  drunk.  Awful  pity  —  too  bad,"  and  he 
sighed  deeply.  "  Now,  Reeky,  oF  man,  take's 
home." 

"Who's  your  friend,  Billy?"  Rex  inquired, 
disregarding  this  appeal. 


10  A  GOOD   SAMARITAN 

Billy  burst  into  a  shout  of  laughter  which 
Fairfax  promptly  clipped  by  putting  his 
hand  over  the  big  man's  mouth.  "He's 
bes*  joke  yet,"  Strong  remarked  through 
Rex's  fingers.  "He's  go'n'  kill  himself," 
and  he  kissed  the  restraining  hand  gallantly. 

The  two  sober  citizens  turned  and  stared 
at  the  gentlemen.  He  looked  it.  He  looked 
as  if  there  could  be  no  step  deeper  into  the 
gloom  which  enveloped  him,  except  suicide. 
He  nodded  darkly  as  the  two  regarded  him. 

"Uh-huh.  Life's  failure.  Lost  cuff-button. 
Won't  live  to  be  indecent.  Go'n'  kill  m'self 
soon's  this  dizhiness  goesh  pasht.  Billy's 
drunk,  but  I'm  subject  to  —  to  dizhiness." 

Rex  turned  to  his  cousin  with  a  gesture. 
'You  see,  Carty,  we  can't  leave  them.  I'm 
just  as  disappointed  as  you  are,  but  it  would 
be  a  beastly  thing  to  do,  to  let  them  get  pulled 
in  as  common  drunks.  What's  your  friend's 
name?"  he  demanded  again  of  Strong. 

"Got  lovely  name,"  he  averred  eagerly. 
"  Good  ol'  moth-eaten  name.  Name's  Schuy- 


"  Who's   your  friend,  Billy  ? 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  11 

ler  VanCourtlandt  Van  de  Water  —  ain't  it 
Schuylie  —  ain't  that  your  name  —  or's  that 
mine  ?  I  —  I  f'rget  IIP  things,"  he  said  in  an 
explanatory  manner. 

But  the  suicide  spoke  up  for  himself. 
"Tha's  my  name,"  he  said  aggressively. 
"Knew  it  in  a  minute.  Tha's  my  father's 
name  and  my  grandfath's  name,  and 
my  great  grandfath's  name  and  my  great- 
great  " 

"Stop,"  said  Rex  tersely,  and  the  man 
stopped.  "Now  tell  me  where  you  live." 

Billy  Strong  leaned  over  and  punched  the 
man  in  the  ribs.  "You  lemme  tell  'em.  Lives 
nine-thous-n  sixt'-four  East  West  Street,"  he 
addressed  Rex,  and  chuckled. 

"  Don't  be  a  donkey,  Billy  —  tell  me  his 
right  address."  Rex  spoke  with  annoyance 
-  this  scene  was  getting  tiresome,  and  al 
though  Reed  was  laughing  hopelessly,  he  was 
on  his  mind. 

"Oh!  F'got!"  Billy's  tipsy  coyness  was 
elephantine.  "Lives  six  thous'n  sev'nty  four 


12  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

North  S  —  South  Street,"  and  he  roared  with 
laughter. 

Rex  was  about  to  learn  how  to  manage 
Billy  Strong.  "Bill,"  he  said,  "be  decent. 
You're  making  me  lots  of  trouble,"  and  Bil 
ly  burst  into  tears  and  sobbed  out: 

"Wouldn*  make  Reeky  trouble  for  worlds 
-  good  oP  Reeky  —  half-witted  oP  goat,  but 
bes'  fren'  ev'  had,"  and  the  address  was  cap 
tured. 

Rex  turned  to  his  cousin,  his  winning,  dep 
recating  manner  warning  Reed  but  soften 
ing  him  against  his  will.  "Carty,"  he  said, 
"there's  nothing  for  it,  but  for  you  to  take 
one  chap  and  I  the  other  and  see  'em  home. 
It's  only  a  little  after  seven  and  we  ought  to 
be  able  to  meet  by  half-past  eight  —  at  the 
Hotel  Netherland,  say  —  that's  near  the 
Rush's.  We'll  have  to  give  up  dinner,  but 
we'll  get  a  sandwich  somewhere,  and  we'll 
do.  I'll  take  Strong  because  he's  more  trou 
blesome  —  I  think  I  can  manage  him.  It's 
awfully  good  of  you,  and  I  can  tell  you 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  13 

I  appreciate  it.  But  it  wouldn't  be  civil 
ized  to  do  less,  old  Carty,  would  it?" 
And  Reed  found  himself,  grumbling  but 
docile,  linked  to  the  suicide's  arm  and 
guiding  his  shuffling  foot-steps  in  the  way 
they  should  go. 

"Now,  we'll  both  kill  ourselves,  old  Carty, 
won't  we?"  Rex  heard  his  cousin's  charge 
mumble  cheerfully  as  they  started  off,  with  a 
visible  lengthening  of  his  gloom  at  the  thought 
of  companionship  at  death. 

Strong  was  marching  along  with  an  un 
earthly  decorum  that  should  have  made  Fair 
fax  suspicious.  But  instead  it  cheered  his 
optimistic  soul  immensely.  "Good  for  you 
old  man,"  he  said  encouragingly.  "At  this 
rate  we'll  get  you  home  in  no  time."  And 
Billy,  at  that  second,  thrust  out  his  great  shoul 
der  into  the  crowd,  and  almost  knocked  a  man 
down.  The  man,  whirled  sidewise  in  front  of 
them,  glared  savagely. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that?"  he  de 
manded.  Strong,  to  whom  nothing  would 


14  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

have  given  more  joy  than  a  tussle,  bent  down 
and  peered  into  the  other's  face. 

"Is  it  a  man  or  a  monkey?"  he  piped,  and 
shrieked  with  laughter. 

The  man's  strained  temper  broke  sudden 
ly  and  Rex  caught  him  by  the  arm  as  he  was 
about  to  spring  for  Strong,  and  promptly  threw 
himself  between  the  two. 

"Look  here,  Billy,"  he  remonstrated,  "if 
you  fight  anybody  it's  got  to  be  me,"  and  he 
spoke  over  his  shoulder  to  the  stranger.  "  You 
see  what  I'm  up  against.  I'm  getting  him 
home  —  do  just  go  on,"  and  the  man  went. 

But  Billy's  head  was  in  his  guardian's  neck 
and  he  was  spluttering  and  sobbing.  "Fight 
you  ?  Nev' —  s*  help  me  —  nev' —  Fight  poor, 
ole  fool  Reeky  —  bes'  fren'  ev'  had  ?  No  sir. 
I  wouldn'  fight  you  Reeky,"  and  he  raised  a 
tear-stained  face  and  gazed  mournfully  into 
his  eyes.  "D'ye  think  I'd " 

"Oh,  shut  up!"  Rex  ejaculated,  "and  hold 
your  head  up,  Billy.  You  make  me  sick." 

The  intoxicated  heavy  freight  being  under 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  15 

way  again,  Rex  looked  about  for  the  rest  of 
the  train,  but  in  vain.  After  a  halt  of  a  min 
ute  or  so  he  decided  that  they  were  lost  and 
would  have  to  stay  lost,  the  situation  being 
too  precarious,  in  this  land  of  policemen, 
with  one  hundred  and  ninety  pounds  of  noisy 
uncertainty  on  his  hands,  to  risk  any  unnec 
essary  movement.  Billy  kept  every  breath 
of  time  alive  and  varied.  Within  two  min 
utes  of  the  first  adventure  he  managed  to  put 
his  elbow  clearly  and  forcibly  into  a  small  man's 
mouth,  and  before  the  other  could  resent  it : 

"S  my  elbow,  sir,"  he  said,  haughtily, 
stopping  and  staring  down. 

"Well,  why  in  thunder  don't  you  keep  it 
where  it  belongs?"  snapped  the  man,  and 
Billy  caught  him  by  the  sleeve. 

"LiP  sir,"  he  said  impressively,  "if  you 
should  bite  off  my  elbow,  you  saucy  baggage" 
—  and  the  thought  was  too  much  for  him. 
Tears  filling  his  eyes  he  turned  to  Rex.  "  Ree 
ky,  you  spank  that  HP  sir,"  he  pleaded  broken 
ly.  "He's  too  HP  for  me  —  I'd  hurt  him"— 


16  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

and  Rex  meditated  again.  A  shock  came 
when  they  reached  the  corner  of  Broadway 
and  Chambers  Street.  "Up's*  daisy,"  crowed 
Billy  Strong,  and  swung  Fairfax  facing  up 
town  with  a  mighty  heave. 

"The  Elevated  station's  down  a  block,  old 
chap,"  explained  the  sober  contingent.  "We 
have  to  take  the  Elevated  to  Seventy-second 
you  know,  and  walk  across  to  your  place." 

Billy  looked  at  him  pityingly.  "You  poor 
HP  pup,"  he  crooned.  "Didn'  I  keep  tellin* 
you  had  to  go  Chris'pher  Street  ferry  meet  a 
girl?  Goin'  theater  with  girl."  He  tipped 
his  derby  one-sided  and  started  off  on  a  cake- 
walk. 

Rex  had  to  march  beside  him  willy-nilly. 
"Look  here,  Billy,"  he  reasoned,  exasperated 
at  this  entirely  fresh  twist  in  the  corkscrew 
business  of  getting  Strong  home.  "Look 
here,  Billy,  this  is  tommy-rot.  You  haven't 
any  date  with  a  girl,  and  if  you  had  you  could 
n't  keep  it.  Come  along  home,  man;  that's 
the  place  for  you." 


A  GOOD   SAMARITAN  17 

But  Billy  was  suddenly  a  Gibraltar  of  firm 
ness.  "  Got  date  with  lovely  blue-eyed  girlie  — 
couldn't  dish'point  her.  Unmanly  deed  — 
Reeky,  d'  you  want  bes*  fren'  ev'  had  to  do 
unmanly  deed,  and  dish'point  trustin'  female  ? 
Nev',  Reeky  —  nev',  ol'  man.  Lesh  be  true  to 
th*  ladies  till  hell  runs  dry  —  Oh,  'scuse  me 
Reeky  —  f 'got  you  was  parson  —  till  well 
runs  dry,  meant  say.  That  all  right  ?  Come  on 
t'  Chris'pher  Street."  And  in  spite  of  desperate 
attempts,  of  long  argument  and  appeal  on 
Rex's  part,  to  Christopher  Street  they  went. 

The  ministering  angel  had  no  hankering  to 
risk  his  charge  in  a  street-car,  so,  as  the  dis 
tance  was  not  great,  they  walked. 

Fairfax's  dread  was  that,  having  saved  his 
friend  so  far,  he  should  attract  the  attention 
of  a  policeman  and  be  arrested.  So  he  kept 
a  sharp  lookout  for  bluecoats  and  passed  them 
studiously  on  the  other  side.  What  was  his 
horror  therefore,  turning  a  corner,  to  turn 
squarely  into  the  majestic  arm  of  the  law,  and 
what  was  his  greater  horror,  to  hear  Billy  Strong 


18  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

suavely  address  him.  Billy  lifted  his  hat  to  the 
large,  fat  officer  as  he  might  have  lifted  it  to 
his  sweetheart  in  her  box  at  the  Horse  Show. 

"  Would  you  have  the  g  —  goodness  to  tell 
me,"  he  inquired,  with  distinguished  courtesy, 
"if  this  is"  -Billy's  articulation  was  improv 
ing,  but  otherwise  he  was  just  as  tipsy  as  ever 
—  "if  this  is  —  Chris-to-pher  Street  —  or  — 
or  Wednesday?" 

"  Hey  ?  "  inquired  the  policeman,  and  stared. 
Repartee  seemed  not  to  be  his  forte. 

"Thank  you  —  thank  you  very  much"  — 
Billy's  gratitude  spilled  over  conventional 
limits  — "very,  very  much  —  old  rhinoceros," 
he  finished,  and  shot  suddenly  ahead,  drag 
ging  Rex  with  him  into  the  whirlpool  of  a 
moving  crowd,  and  it  dawned  on  the  police 
man  five  minutes  later  that  the  courtly  gentle 
man  was  drunk. 

The  anxiety  of  this  game  was  its  unexpect 
edness.  Strong,  in  the  turn  of  a  hand  grew 
playful,  after  the  fashion  of  a  mammoth  kitten. 
He  bounded  this  way  and  that,  knocking  into 


A  GOOD   SAMARITAN  19 

somebody  inevitably  at  every  leap,  and  at  each 
contact  he  wheeled  toward  the  injured  and  lift 
ed  his  hat  and  bowed  low  and  brought  out  "  I 
-beg  —  your  —  pardon"  with  a  drawl  of 
sarcastic  emphasis  too  insulting  to  be  de 
scribed. 

"Billy,"  pleaded  Rex,  taking  to  pathos, 
"don't  do  that  again.  You'll  get  arrested,  and 
maybe  they'll  arrest  me  too,  and  you  don't 
want  to  get  me  into  a  hole,  do  you?" 

Billy  stopped  short  with  a  suddenness  which 
came  near  to  upsetting  his  guide,  and  put  both 
large  hands  on  Rex's  shoulders,  and  gazed  into 
his  eyes  with  a  world  of  blurred  affection. 
"Reck,  oP  fel',"  and  his  voice  broke  with  a 
sob,  "if  I  got  you  into  hole,  I'd  jump  in  hole 
after  you,  and  I'd  —  and  I'd  —  pull  hole  in 
after  both  of  us,  and  then  I'd  —  I'd  tell  hole 
you  was  bes'  fren*  ev'  had,  and 

"Come  along  and  behave,"  cut  in  the  vic 
tim  of  this  devotion  shortly.  "  Don't  be  a  fool." 

Strong  lifted  a  fatherly  forefinger.  "  Naughty 
naughty!  Shouldn'  call  brother  fool.  Danger 


20  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

hell  fire  if  you  call  brother  fool.  Nev'  min', 
Reeky  —  we  un'stand  each  other.  Two  fools. 
I'm  go'n  behave."  He  knocked  his  derby  in  the 
back  so  it  rested  on  his  nose,  stuck  his  chin  up 
to  meet  it,  and  started  off  in  the  most  unmis 
takable  semblance  of  a  tipsy  man  to  be  met 
anywhere.  "See  me  behavin'?"  he  remarked 
sidewise,  with  a  gleam  of  rollicking  deviltry 
out  of  his  eyes. 

Christopher  Street  ferry  was  reached  safe 
ly  by  a  miracle,  and  inside  the  ferry-house 
Strong  made  a  bee  line  for  a  truck  and  threw 
his  great  body  full  length  upon  it  with  a  loud 
yawn  of  joy.  "  So  tired,"  he  remarked.  "  Go'n 
have  good  nap  now,"  and  he  closed  his  eyes 
peacefully. 

"  See  here,  Billy,  this  won't  do.  You  said  you 
had  to  meet  a  girl  —  what  about  that  ?  " 

"Oh,  tha's  all  right,"  Billy  agreed  easily. 
"You  meet  girl  —  tell  her  you  got  me  drunk," 
and  he  turned  over  and  prepared  for  slumber. 
Strenuous  argument  was  necessary  to  rouse 
him  even  to  half  a  sense  of  responsibility. 


1 


*~ 

^ 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  21 

"  Reeky,  dear,  you  -  -  'noy  me,"  he  said  with 
severity,  coining  to  a  sitting  position  and  con 
templating  Rex  with  mild  displeasure.  "What 
kin'  girl  ?  Why,  jes'  girly-girl.  Lovely  blue-eyed 
girly-girl  —  kind  of  girl  —  colored  hair," 
he  swept  his  hand  descriptively  over  his  own 
black  locks.  "  Wears  sort  of  —  skirts,  you 
know  -  -  you  'member  the  kind.  All  of  'em 
same  thing  —  well,  she  wears  'em  too.  Tha's 
all,"  and  he  dropped  heavily  back  to  the  truck 
and  retired  into  his  coat  collar. 

Rex  shook  him.  "That  won't  do,  Billy.  I 
can't  pick  out  a  girl  on  that.  Will  there  be  a 
chaperone  with  her?" 

"No!"  thundered  Billy. 

"How  is  a  girl  allowed  to  go  to  the  theater 
with  you  without  a  chaperone  ?"  inquired  Rex 
incredulously.  "This  is  New  York." 

Strong  brought  down  his  fist.  "Death  to 
chaperones!  A  bas  les  chaperones!  Don't  you 
think  girl's  mother  trust  her  to  me  ?  "  Look  at 
me!  I'll  be  chaperone  to  tha'  girl,  and  father, 
'n'  mother,  'n'  a  few  uncles  and  aunts."  He 


22  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

threw  his  arm  out  with  a  gesture  which  com 
prised  the  universe.  "I'll  be  all  the  world  to 
tha'  girl.  You  go  meet  her  'n'  tell  her  you  got 
me  drunk,"  he  concluded  with  a  radiant  smile. 

Rex  considered.  There  seemed  to  be  enough 
method  in  Strong's  madness  to  justify  the  be 
lief  that  he  had  an  engagement.  If  so,  he  must 
by  all  means  wait  and  trust  to  luck  to  pick  out 
the  "lovely  blue-eyed  girlie"  who  was  the 
"party  of  the  other  part,"  and  hope  for  an  in 
spiration  as  to  what  to  tell  her.  She  might  be 
with  or  without  a  chaperone,  she  might  be  any 
variety  of  the  species,  but  Strong  seemed  to  be 
quite  clear  that  she  had  blue  eyes. 

The  crowd  from  the  incoming  boat  began 
to  unload  into  the  ferry-house,  and  Rex  placed 
himself  anxiously  by  the  entrance.  Three  or 
four  thin  men  scurried  in  advance,  then  a 
bunch  of  stout  and  middle-aged  persons  strag 
gled  along  puffing.  Then  came  a  set  of  young 
people  in  theater  array,  chattering  and  laugh 
ing  as  they  hurried,  and  another  set,  and  an 
other  —  the  main  body  of  the  little  army  was 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  23 

upon  him.  Rex  scanned  them  for  a  girl  alone 
or  a  girl  with  her  mother.  Ah !  here  she  was  — 
this  must  be  Strong's  "blue-eyed  girlie."  She 
was  alone  and  pretty,  a  little  under-bred  and 
blond.  Rex  lifted  his  hat. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  he  said,  in  his  most 
winning  way;  "are  you  waiting  for  Mr. 
Strong?" 

The  girl  threw  up  her  head  and  looked 
frightened,  and  then  angry. 

"No,  I  am  not,"  she  said,  and  then,  with  a 
haughty  look,  "I  call  you  pretty  saucy,"  and 
Rex  was  left  mortified  and  silent,  while  a  pass 
ing  man  murmured,  "  Served  you  right,"  and  a 
woman  laughed  scornfully.  He  stalked  across 
to  the  tranquil  form  on  the  truck. 

"Billy,"  he  said,  and  shook  a  massive  shoul 
der.  "Wake  up.  Tell  me  that  girl's  name." 

Strong  opened  his  eyes  like  a  baby  waked 
from  dewy  sleep.  "  Wha's  that,  Reeky  — 
dear  old  Reeky  —  bes'  fren* " 

"Cut  that  out,"  said  Rex,  sharply.  "Tell 
me  the  name  of  the  girl  you're  waiting  here  to 


24  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

meet,"  and  he  laughed  a  short  bitter  laugh. 
The  girl  whom  "Billy"  was  waiting  to  meet! 
Rex  was  getting  tired  and  hungry. 

Strong  smiled  a  gentle,  obstinate,  tipsy  smile 
and  shook  his  head.  "No,  Reeky,  dear  oF 
fren'  —  bes'  fren'  —  well,  nev'  min'.  Can't 
tell  girl's  name;  tha's  her  secret." 

"  Don't  be  an  ass,  Billy  —  quick,  now,  tell 
me  the  name." 

"Naughty,  naughty!"  quoted  Billy  again, 
and  waggled  his  forefinger.  "Danger  hell  fire! 
Couldn'  tell  girl's  name,  Reeky  —  be  dishon'- 
able.  Couldn',  no,  couldn'.  Anythin'  else  — 
ask  m'  any  thin'  else  in  all  these  wide  worlds" 
—  and  he  struck  his  breast  with  fervor.  "  Tell 
you  anything  Reeky,  but  couldn'  betray  trustin' 
girl's  secret." 

"Billy,  can't  you  give  me  an  idea  what  the 
girl's  like?"  pleaded  Rex  desperately.  Billy 
smiled  up  at  him  drowsily.  "Perfectly  good 
girl,"  he  elucidated.  "  Good  eyes,  good  wind, 
kind  to  mother  —  perfectly  good  girl  in  ev  — 
every  r-respect,"  he  concluded,  emphasizing 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  25 

his  sentences  by  articulating  them.  He  dropped 
his  chin  into  his  chest  with  a  recumbent  bow, 
and  his  arm  described  an  impressive  semicircle. 
"Present  to  her  'surances  my  most  disting'- 
shed  consider-ration  —  soon's  you  find  her," 
and  he  went  flop  on  his  side  and  was  asleep. 

Rex  had  to  give  it  up.  He  heard  the  gates 
rattling  open  for  the  next  boat-load,  and  took 
his  stand  again,  bracing  himself  for  another 
rebuff.  The  usual  vanguard,  the  usual  quick 
silver  bunch  of  humanity,  massing,  separating, 
flowing  this  way  and  that,  and  in  the  midst  of 
them  a  fair-haired,  timid-looking  young  girl, 
walking  quietly  with  down-cast  eyes,  as  if  un 
used  to  being  in  big  New  York  alone  at  eight 
o'clock  at  night.  Rex  stood  in  front  of  her  with 
bared  head. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  he  repeated  his  for 
mula;  "  are  you  looking  for  Mr.  Strong  ?" 

The  startled  eyes  lifted  to  his  a  short  second, 
then  dropped  again.  "No,  for  Mr.  Week,  "  she 
answered  softly,  and  unconscious  of  witticism, 
melted  into  the  throng. 


26  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

This  was  a  heavy  boat-load,  for  it  was  just 
theater  time  —  they  were  still  coming.  And 
suddenly  his  heart  bounded  and  stopped.  Of 
course  —  he  was  utterly  foolish  not  to  have 
known  — •  it  was  she  —  Billy  Strong's  be 
witching  cousin,  the  girl  from  Orange.  There 
she  stood  with  her  big,  brown  eyes  searching, 
gazing  here  and  there,  as  lovely,  as  incongruous 
as  a  wood-nymph  strayed  into  a  political  meet 
ing.  The  feather  of  her  hat  tossed  in  the  May 
breeze;  the  fading  light  from  the  window  be 
hind  her  shone  through  loose  hair  about  her 
face,  turned  it  into  a  soft  dark  aureole;  the 
gray  of  her  tailor  gown  was  crisp  and  fresh  as 
spring-time.  To  Rex's  eyes  no  picture  had  ever 
been  more  satisfying. 

Suddenly  she  caught  sight  of  him,  and  her 
face  lighted  as  if  lamps  had  shone  out  of  a  twi 
light,  and  in  a  second  he  had  her  hand  in  his, 
and  was  talking  away,  with  responsibility  and 
worry,  and  that  heavy  weight  on  the  truck 
back  there,  quite  gone  out  of  the  world.  She 
was  in  it,  and  himself  —  the  world  was  full. 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  27 

The  girl  seemed  to  be  as  oblivious  of  outside 
facts  as  he,  for  it  was  quite  two  minutes,  and 
the  last  straggler  from  the  boat  had  disappear 
ed  into  the  street  before  she  broke  into  one  of 
his  sentences. 

"  Why,  but  —  I  forgot.  You  made  me  forget 
entirely,  Mr.  Fairfax.  I'm  going  to  the  theater 
with  my  cousin,  Billy  Strong.  He  ought  to  be 
here  —  where  is  he  ?" 

Rex  shivered  lest  her  roving  eyes  might 
answer  the  question,  for  Billy's  truck  with 
Billy  slumbering  peacefully  on  it,  lay  in  full 
view  not  fifty  feet  away.  But  her  gaze  passed 
unsuspiciously  over  the  prostrate,  huddled 
form. 

"It's  very  queer  —  I'm  sure  this  was  the 
right  boat."  She  looked  up  at  his  face  anxious 
ly,  and  he  almost  moaned  aloud.  What  was  he 
going  to  say  to  her? 

"That's  what  I'm  here  for,  Miss  Margery 
—  to  explain  about  Billy.  He  —  he  isn't  feeling 
at  all  himself  to-night,  and  it's  utterly  im 
possible  for  him  to  go  with  you."  To  his  as- 


28  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

tonishment  her  face  broke  into  a  very  satisfied 
smile.  "  Oh  —  well,  I'm  sorry  Billy's  ill,  but 
we'll  hope  for  the  best,  and  I  won't  really  ob 
ject  to  you  as  a  substitute,  you  know.  Of  course 
it's  improper,  and  mother  wouldn't  think  of 
letting  me  go  with  you  —  but  I'm  going.  Moth 
er  won't  mind  when  I  tell  her  it's  done.  I've 
never  been  alone  with  a  man  to  anything,  ex 
cept  with  my  cousin  —  it's  like  stealing  water 
melons,  isn't  it?  Don't  you  think  it's  rather 
fun?" 

Staggered  by  the  situation,  Fairfax  thought 
desperately  and  murmured  something  which 
sounded  like  "  Oochee-Goochee,"  as  he  tried 
to  recall  it  later.  The  girl's  gay  voice  went  on : 
"  It  would  be  wicked  to  waste  the  tickets.  City 
people  aren't  going  to  the  theater  as  late  as  this, 
so  we  won't  see  any  one  we  know.  I  think  it's  a 
dispensation  of  Providence,  and  I'd  be  a  poor- 
spirited  mouse  to  waste  the  chance.  I  think  I'll 
go  with  you  —  don't  you  ?  " 

Could  he  leave  that  prostrate  form  on  the 
truck  and  snatch  at  this  bit  of  heaven  dang- 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  29 

ling  before  him  ?  Could  he  —  Couldn't  he  ? 
No,  he  could  not.  It  would  be  a  question  of  fif 
teen  minutes  perhaps  before  the  drowsy  Billy 
would  be  marching  to  the  police  station,  and 
in  his  entirely  casual  and  fearless  state  of  mind, 
the  big  athlete  would  make  history  for  some 
policeman,  his  friend  could  not  doubt,  before 
he  got  there.  Rex  had  put  his  hand  to  this  in 
toxicated  plow  and  he  must  not  look  back, 
even  when  the  prospect  backwards  was  so  be- 
wilderingly  attractive,  so  tantalizingly  easy. 
He  stammered  badly  when,  at  length,  the 
silence  which  followed  the  soft  voice  had  to  be 
filled. 

"I'm  simply  —  simply  —  broken  up,  Miss 
Margery,"  and  the  girl's  eyes  looked  at  him 
with  a  sweet  wideness  that  made  it  harder.  "  I 
don't  know  how  to  tell  you,  and  I  don't  know 
how  to  resign  myself  to  it  either,  but  I  —  I  can't 
take  you  to  the  theater.  I  —  I've  got  to  —  got 
to  —  well,  you  see,  I've  got  to  be  with  Billy." 

She  spoke  quickly  at  that.  "Mr.  Fairfax,  is 
Billy  really  ill  —  is  there  something  more  than 


30  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

I  understand?  Why  didn't  you  tell  me?  Has 
their  been  an  accident,  perhaps  ?  Why,  I  must 
go  to  him  too  —  come  —  hurry  —  I'll  go  with 
you,  of  course.'* 

Rex  stumbled  again  in  his  effort  to  quiet  her 
alarm,  to  prevent  this  scheme  of  seeking  Billy 
on  his  couch  of  pain.  "Oh  no,  indeed  you  mustn't 
do  that/'  he  objected  strenuously.  "  I  couldn't 
let  you,  you  know.  I  don't  want  you  to  be  both 
ered.  Billy  isn't  ill  at  all  —  there  hasn't  been 
any  accident,  I  give  you  my  word.  He's  all 
right  —  Billy's  all  right."  He  had  quite  lost  his 
prospective  by  now,  and  did  not  see  the  rocks 
upon  which  he  rushed. 

"If  Billy's  all  right,  why  isn't  he  here?"  de 
manded  Billy's  cousin  severely. 

Rex  saw  now.  "  He  isn't  exactly  —  that  is  to 
say  —  all  right,  you  know.  You  see  how  it  is," 
and  he  gazed  involuntarily  at  the  sleeping  giant 
huddled  on  the  truck. 

"I  do  not  see,"  The  brown  eyes  had  never 
looked  at  him  so  coldly  before,  and  their  ex 
pression  cut  him. 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  31 

"I'm  glad  you  don't,"  he  cried,  and  realized 
that  the  words  had  taken  him  a  step  deeper  in 
to  trouble.  "It's  just  this  way,  Miss  Margery 
—  Billy  isn't  hurt  or  ill,  but  he  isn't  —  isn't 
feeling  quite  himself,  and  —  and  I've  got  to  — 
I've  got  to  be  with  him."  His  voice  sounded  as 
if  he  were  going  to  cry,  but  it  moved  the  girl  to 
no  pity. 

"Oh!"  she  said,  and  her  bewildered  tone 
was  a  whole  world  removed  from  the  bright 
comradeship  with  which  she  had  met  him.  "I 
see  —  you  and  Billy  have  something  else  plan 
ned."  Her  face  flushed  suddenly.  "I'm  sorry  I 
misunderstood  about  —  about  the  theater.  I 
wouldn't  for  worlds  have  —  have  seemed  to 
force  you  to  — "  She  stopped,  embarrassed, 
hurt,  but  yet  with  her  graceful  dignity  un 
touched. 

"Oh,"  the  wretched  Rex  exclaimed  im 
petuously,  "  if  I  could  only  take  you  to  the  the 
ater,  I'd  rather  than  —  "  but  the  girl  stopped 
him. 

"Never  mind  about  that,  please,"  she  said, 


32  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

with  gentle  decision.  "  I  must  go  home  — 
when  is  the  next  boat  ?  One  is  going  now  — 
good-night,  Mr.  Fairfax  —  no,  don't  come  with 
me  —  I  don't  need  you,"  and  she  was  gone. 

Two  minutes  later  Strong's  innocent  slum 
bers  were  dispersed  by  a  vicious  shake.  "  Wake 
up!  wake  up!"  ordered  Fairfax,  restraining 
himself  with  difficulty  from  mangling  the  cause 
of  his  sufferings.  "  I've  had  enough,  and  we're 
going  home,  straight." 

Rex  was  mistaken  about  that,  but  Billy  was 
cordial  in  agreeing  with  him.  "Good  idea, 
Reeky!  Howd'y'  ever  come  to  think  of  it  ?  Le's 
go  home  straight;  tha's  a  bully  good  thing  to  do. 
Le's  do  it.  Big  head  on  you,  ol'  boy,"  and  yawn 
ing  still,  but  with  unperturbed  good  nature, 
Strong  marched,  a  bit  crookedly,  arm  in  arm 
with  his  friend  to  the  street. 

Rex's  memory  of  the  trip  uptown  on  the 
Elevated  was  like  an  evil  dream.  Strong,  after 
his  nap,  was  as  a  giant  refreshed,  and  his  play 
of  wit  knew  no  contracting  limits.  There  were, 
luckily,  not  many  passengers  going  up  at  this 


At  every  station  the  conductor  and  Rex  had  to 
reason  with  him 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  33 

hour,  but  the  dozen  or  so  on  the  car  were  re 
galed.  Billy  selected  a  seat  on  the  floor  with 
his  broad  back  planted  against  the  door,  and 
at  every  station  the  conductor  and  Rex  had  to 
reason  with  him  at  length  before  the  door  could 
be  opened.  The  official  threatened  as  well  as  he 
could  for  laughing  to  put  him  off,  but  he  threat 
ened  less  strenuously  for  the  sight  of  six  feet 
two  of  muscle  in  magnificently  fit  condition. 
This  lasted  for  half  a  dozen  stations  and  then 
the  patient  began  to  play  like  a  mountainous 
kitten.  He  took  a  strap  on  either  side  of  the  car 
and  turned  somersaults;  he  did  traveling  ring 
work  with  them;  he  gave  a  standing  broad 
jump  that  would  have  been  creditable  on  an 
athletic  field;  he  had  his  audience  screaming 
with  laughter  at  an  imitation  of  water  polo  over 
the  back  of  a  seat.  Then,  just  as  the  fun  was  at 
an  almost  impossible  point,  and  the  conductor, 
highly  entertained  but  worried,  was  consider 
ing  how  to  get  this  chap  arrested,  Billy  walked 
up  to  him  with  charming  friendliness  and 
shook  hands. 


34  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

"One  th'  besh  track  meets  I've  ever  had 
pleasure  attending  sir,"  he  said  genially,  and 
sat  down  and  relapsed  into  grave  dignity. 

So  he  remained  for  five  minutes,  to  the  trem 
bling  joy  of  his  exhausted  guardian,  but  it  was 
too  good  to  be  true.  Suddenly,  at  Fifty-third 
Street,  he  spied  a  young  woman  at  the  other  end 
of  the  car.  There  were  not  more  than  nine  pas 
sengers,  so  that  each  person  might  have  had  a 
matter  of  half  a  dozen  seats  a  piece,  but 
Strong  suddenly  felt  a  demand  on  his 
politeness,  and  reason  was  nothing  to  him. 
He  rose  and  marched  the  forty  feet  or  so 
between  himself  and  the  woman,  and,  stand 
ing  in  front  of  her,  lifted,  with  some  difficulty, 
his  hat. 

"Won't  you  take  my  seat,  madam?"  he  in 
quired,  with  a  smile  of  perfect  courtesy. 

The  young  person  was  a  young  person  of 
common-sense  and  she  caught  the  situation. 
She  flashed  a  reassuring  glance  at  Rex,  hover 
ing  distressed  in  the  background,  and  shook 
her  head  at  Strong  politely.  "  No  —  no,  thank 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  35 

you,"  she  said;  "I  think  I  can  find  a  seat  at 
this  end  that  will  do  nicely." 

"Madam,  I  insist,"  Strong  addressed  her 
again  earnestly. 

"No,  really,"  The  young  woman  was  em 
barrassed,  for  the  eyes  of  the  car  were  on  her. 
"Thank  you  so  much,"  she  said  finally;  "I 
think  I'd  better  stay  here." 

Strong  bent  over  and  put  a  great  hand  lightly 
on  her  arm.  "  Madam,  as  gen'leman  I  cannot, 
cannot  allow  it.  Madam,  you  mush  take  my 
seat.  Pleash,  madam,  do  not  make  scene.  'S 
pleasure  to  me,  'sure  you  —  greates'  pleasure," 
and  beneath  this  courtly  urgency  the  flushed 
girl  walked  shamefacedly  the  length  of  the  al 
most  empty  car,  and  sat  down  in  Strong's  seat, 
while  that  soul  of  chivalry  put  his  hand  through 
a  strap  and  so  stood  till  his  ministering  angel 
extracted  him  from  the  train  at  Seventy-second 
Street. 

With  a  sigh  of  heartfelt  relief,  Rex  put  his 
arm  in  the  big  fellow's  at  the  foot  of  the  steps. 
Freedom  must  now  be  at  hand,  for  Billy's 


36  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

home  was  in  a  great  apartment  building  not  ten 
minutes'  walk  away.  The  culprit  himself  seem 
ed  to  realize  that  his  fling  was  over. 

"Raished  Cain  t'night,  didn'  we,  oF  pal?" 
he  inquired,  and  squeezed  Rex's  guiding  arm 
with  affection.  "  I'll  shay  this  for  you,  Rex  — 
you  may  be  soft-hearted  ol'  slob,  you  may  be 
half-witted  donkey  —  I'm  not  denyin'  all  that 
'n  more,  but  I'll  shay  thish  —  you're  the  bes' 
man  to  go  on  a  drunk  with  in  —  in  —  in 
The'logican  Sem'nary.  I'm  not  'xceptin' 
th' " 

"  Shut  up,  Billy,"  remarked  Rex,  not  for  the 
first  time  that  night.  "I'd  get  myself  pulled  to 
gether  a  bit  if  I  were  you,"  he  advised.  "You're 
going  to  see  your  family  in  a  minute." 

"M*  poor  fam'ly!"  mourned  Strong,  shak 
ing  his  head.  "M'  poor  fam'ly!  Thish'll  be 
awful  blow  to  m'  fam'ly,  Reeky.  They  all  like 
so  mush  to  see  me  sober  —  always  —  's  their 
fad,  Reeky.  Don't  blame  'em,  Reeky,  's  natural 
to  'em.  Some  peop*  born  that  way.  M'  poor 
fam'ly." 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  37 

They  stood  in  front  of  the  broad  driveway 
which  swept  under  lofty  arches  into  the  huge 
apartment  house.  Strong  stopped  and  gazed 
upwards  mournfully.  "Right  up  there,"  he 
murmured,  pointing  skywards  —  "M'  fam'ly.' 
The  tears  were  streaming  down  his  face  frankly 
now.  "  I  can't  face  'em  Reeky,  'n  this  condition 
you've  got  me  in,"  he  said  more  in  sorrow  than 
in  anger.  At  that  second  the  last  inspiration  of 
the  evening  caught  him.  Across  the  street  arose 
the  mighty  pile  of  an  enormous  uptown  hotel. 
Strong  jerked  his  thumb  over  his  shoulder. 
"Go'n*  break  it  to  m'  fam'ly  by  telegraph' 
'em,"  he  stated,  and  bitterly  Rex  repented  of 
that  thoughtless  mention  of  the  Strongs  to  their 
son  and  heir. 

Good-naturedly  as  he  had  done  everything, 
but  relentlessly,  he  dragged  his  victim  over  the 
way,  and  direct  to  the  Western  Union  office  of 
the  hotel  —  "Webster's  Union"  he  preferred 
to  call  it.  His  first  telegram  read: 

"Rex  Fairfax  got  me  drunk.  Don't  blame 
him.  It's  natural  to  him." 


38  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

That  one  was  confiscated,  Strong  complain 
ing  gently  that  his  friend  was  all  "fads." 

The  second  message  was  this: 

"Dear  Mama:  Billy's  intoxicated.  Awfully 
sorry.  Couldn't  be  helped.  Home  soon." 

That  one  went  in  spite  of  Fairfax's  efforts, 
with  two  cents  extra  to  pay,  which  item  was  the 
first  event  of  the  evening  to  ruffle  Strong's  tem 
per. 

"  Shame,  shame  on  rich  cap'talists  like  Web 
ster's  Union  to  wring  two  cents  from  poor  drunk 
chap,  for  HP  word  like  'soon',"  he  growled, 
and  appealed  to  the  operator.  "Couldn't  you 
let  me  off  that  two  cents  ?"  he  asked  winningly. 
*  You're  good  fellow  —  good  lookin'  fellow 
too" — which  was  the  truth.  "Well,  then,  can 
I  get  'em  cheaper  'f  I  sen  'em  by  quantity  ?  I'll 
do  that  —  how  many  for  dollar,  hey?" 

"Five,"  said  the  grinning  operator,  troubled 
by  the  irregularity,  but  taken  by  this  highly 
entertaining  scheme  of  telegraphing  across  the 
street.  And  Rex,  his  arts  exhausted  in  vain, 
watched  hopelessly  while,  one  after  another, 


Could  he  —  couldn't  he  ? 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  39 

five  telegrams  were  sent  to  The  Montana,  a 
hundred  feet  away.  The  first  being  short  two 
of  the  regulation  ten  words.  Strong  finished 
with  a  cabalistic  phrase :  "  Rectangular  parallel- 
opipedon." 

"  That'll  get  even  Webster's  Union  for  charg- 
in*  me  two  cents  for  'soon',"  he  chuckled. 
"  Don't  y'  wish  y'  hadn'  charged  me  that  two 
cents,  hey?"  he  demanded  of  the  operator, 
laughing  joyfully  and  cocking  his  hat  over  one 
ear,  and  the  operator  and  two  or  three  men  who 
stood  near  could  do  no  otherwise  than  laugh 
joyfully  too.  Strong  straightened  his  face  into  a 
semblance  of  deep  gravity.  "Thish  next  one's 
important,"  he  announced,  and  put  the  end  of 
the  pencil  in  his  mouth  and  meditated,  while 
his  fascinated  audience  watched  him.  He  was 
lost  in  thought  for  perhaps  two  minutes,  and 
then  scribbled  madly,  and  as  he  ended  the  little 
bunch  of  men  crowded  frankly  to  look  at  what 
he  had  written.  He  pushed  it  toward  them  with 
charming  unreserve,  and  the  bewilderment 
with  which  it  was  read  seemed  to  please  him. 


40  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

"  Dear  Papa" :  it  ran.  " I'm  Calymene  Blum- 
enbachii,  a  trilobite,  one  of  the  crustaceans 
related  to  the  emtomostracans,  but  looking 
more  like  a  tetradecapod,  but  always  your  af 
fectionate  —  Billy." 

He  pushed  it  to  the  operator.  "  Split  that  in 
three,"  he  ordered.  "  Don't  want  ruin  the  wires 
I'm  careful  'bout  wires.  Big  fall  snow  wouldn't 
do  more  damage  'n  heavy  words  like  that,"  he 
explained  to  the  listening  circle.  "Think  I  look 
like  tetradecapod?"  he  asked  of  them  as 
one  who  makes  conversation.  "Had  that  in 
geology  lesson  when  I  was  fifteen,"  he  went  on. 
"  Got  lodged  in  crack  in  brain  and  there  tish  t' 
thish  day!  Every  now'n  then  I  go  'flip,' 
he  appeared  to  pull  a  light  lever  situated  in  his 
head  — "  'n  fire  it  off.  See  ?  Always  hit  some 
thing." 

It  was  ten  o'clock  when,  the  job  lot  of  tele 
grams  despatched,  Fairfax  led  his  volcano 
from  the  hotel  and  headed  for  the  apartment 
house.  He  expected  another  balk  at  the  en 
trance,  for  his  round  of  gaiety  had  come  now 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  41 

to  seem  to  him  eternal  —  he  could  hardly  im 
agine  a  life  in  which  he  was  not  conducting  a 
tipsy  man  through  a  maze  of  experiences.  So 
that  it  was  one  of  the  surprises  of  the  evening 
when  Strong  entered  quietly  and  with  perfect 
deportment  took  his  place  in  the  elevator  and 
got  out  again,  eight  floors  up,  with  the  mildness 
of  a  dove.  At  the  door  of  the  apartment 
came  the  last  brief  but  sharp  action  of  the 
campaign. 

"Reeky,"  he  said,  taking  Fairfax's  shoul 
ders  in  his  great  grasp,  "no  mother  could  be 
t'  me  what  you've  been." 

"I  hope  not,"  Rex  responded  promptly,  but 
Strong  was  not  to  be  side-tracked. 

"  No  mother  'n  the  world  —  not  one  —  no 
sir!"  he  went  on.  His  voice  broke  with  feeling. 
"I'll  nev'  forget  it  —  nev' —  don't  ask  me  to," 
he  insisted.  "  Dear  Reeky  —  blessed  old  tom 
fool  —  I'm  go'n  kiss  you  good-night." 

'You  bet  you're  not,"  said  Fairfax  with  em 
phasis.  "Let  go  of  me,  you  idiot,"  and  he  tried 
to  loosen  the  hands  on  his  shoulders. 


42  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

But  one  of  the  most  powerful  men  in  New 
York  had  him  in  his  grip,  and  Rex  found  him 
self  suddenly  folded  in  Billy's  arms,  while  a 
chaste  salute  was  planted  full  on  his  mouth.  As 
he  emerged  a  second  later,  disgusted  and  fur 
ious,  from  this  tender  embrace,  the  clang  of  the 
elevator  twenty  feet  away  caught  his  ear  and, 
turning,  his  eyes  met  the  astonished  gaze  of 
two  young  girls  and  their  scornful,  frowning 
father.  At  that  moment  the  door  of  the  Strongs' 
apartment  opened,  there  was  a  vision  of  the 
elder  Mr.  Strong's  distracted  face,  the  yellow 
gleam  of  the  last  telegram  in  his  hands,  and 
Rex  fled. 

Two  weeks  later,  a  May  breeze  rustling 
through  the  greenness  of  the  quadrangle,  brush 
ed  softly  the  ivy-clad  brick  walls,  and  stole, 
like  a  runaway  child  to  its  playmate,  through 
an  open  window  of  the  Theological  Seminary 
building  at  Chelsea  Square.  Entering  so,  it 
flapped  suddenly  at  the  white  curtains  as  if 
astonished.  What  was  this?  Two  muscular 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  43 

black  clad  arms  were  stretched  across  a  table, 
and  between  them  lay  a  brown  head,  inert, 
hopeless.  It  seemed  strange  that  on  such  a  May 
day,  with  such  a  May  breeze,  life  could  look 
dark  to  anything  young,  yet  Reginald  Fairfax, 
at  the  head  of  the  graduating  class,  easily  first 
in  more  than  one  way  —  in  scholarship,  in  ath 
letics,  in  versatility,  and,  more  than  all,  like 
George  Washington,  "first  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen,"  the  most  popular  man  of  the 
Seminary  -  -  this  successful  and  well  beloved 
young  person  sat  wretched  and  restless  in  his 
room  and  let  the  breeze  blow  over  his  prostrate 
head  and  his  idle,  nerveless  hands.  Since  the 
night  of  the  rescue  of  Billy  Strong  he  had  felt 
himself  another  and  a  worse  man.  He  sent  a 
note  to  his  cousin  the  next  day. 

"Dear  Carty,"  it  read,  "For  mercy  sake  let 
me  alone.  I  know  I've  lost  my  chance  at  St. 
Eric's  and  I  know  you'll  say  it  was  my  own 
fault.  I  don't  want  to  hear  either  statement,  so 
don't  come  near  me  till  I  hunt  you  up,  which  I 
will  do  when  I'm  fit  to  talk  to  a  white  man.  I'm 


44  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

grateful,  though  you  may  not  believe  it.  Yours 
-  Rex." 

But  the  lost  chance  at  St.  Eric's,  although  it 
was  coming  to  weigh  heavily  on  his  buoyant 
spirit,  was  not  the  worst  of  his  troubles.  The 
girl  from  Orange  —  there  lay  the  sting.  He 
had  sent  her  a  note  as  well,  but  there  was  little 
he  was  free  to  say  without  betraying  Billy, 
the  note  was  mostly  vague  expressions  of  regret, 
and  Rex  knew  her  clearheaded  directness  too 
well  to  hope  that  it  would  count  for  much.  No 
answer  had  come,  and,  day  by  day,  he  had 
grown  more  dejected,  hoping  against  hope  for 
one. 

A  knock  —  the  postman's  knock  —  and  Rex 
started  and  sprang  to  the  door.  One  letter,  but 
he  could  hardly  believe  his  glad  eyes  when  he 
saw  the  address  on  it,  for  it  was  the  handwrit 
ing  which  he  had  come  to  know  well,  had  known 
well,  seeing  it  once  —  her  handwriting.  In  a 
moment  the  jagged-edged  envelope,  torn  in  a 
desperate  hurry  to  get  what  it  held,  lay  one  side, 
and  he  was  reading. 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  45 

"Dear  Mr.  Fairfax":  the  letter  ran;  "For 
two  weeks  I  have  been  very  unjust  to  you  and 
I  want  to  beg  your  pardon.  Billy  was  here  three 
days  ago,  and  what  I  didn't  know  and  what  he 
didn't  know  we  patched  together,  and  the  con 
sequence  is  I  want  to  apologize  and  to  make 
up  to  you,  if  I  can,  for  being  so  disagreeable. 
Billy's  recollections  of  that  night  were  disjoint 
ed,  but  he  remembered  a  lot  in  spots,  and  I 
know  now  just  what  a  friend  you  were  to  him 
and  how  you  saved  him.  I  think  he  was  horrid, 
but  I  think  you  were  fine  —  simply  fine.  I  can't 
half  say  it  in  writing  so  will  you  please  come 
out  for  over  Sunday  —  mother  says  —  and  I'll 
try  to  show  you  how  splendid  I  think  you  were. 
Will  you  ?  Yours  sincerely"  —  and  her  name. 

Would  he?  Such  a  radiant  smile  shone 
through  the  little  bare  room  that  the  May 
breeze,  catching  its  light  at  the  window,  clapped 
gay  applause  against  the  flapping  curtain.  This 
was  as  it  should  be. 

But  the  breeze  and  the  postman  were  not  to 
be  the  only  messengers  of  happiness.  Steps 


46  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

sounded  down  the  long,  empty  hall,  stopped  at 
his  door,  and  Rex,  a  new  joy  of  living  pulsing 
through  him,  sprang  again,  almost  before  the 
knock  sounded,  to  meet  gladly  what  might  be 
coming.  His  face  looked  out  of  the  wide-open 
doorway  with  so  bright  a  welcome  to  the  world, 
that  the  two  men  who  stood  across  the  thres 
hold  smiled  an  involuntary  answer. 

"  Carty !  I'm  awfully  glad  "  -  and  Rex  stop 
ped  to  put  his  hand  out  graciously,  deferen 
tially,  to  the  gray-haired  and  distinguished  man 
who  stood  with  Carter  Reed. 

"  Judge  Rush,  this  is  my  cousin,  Mr.  Fair 
fax,"  Reed  presented  him,  and  in  a  moment 
Rex's  friend,  the  breeze,  was  helping  hospi 
tality  on  with  gay  little  refreshing  dashes  at  a 
warm,  silvered  head,  as  Judge  Rush  sat  in  the 
biggest  chair  at  the  big  open  window.  He  beam 
ed  upon  the  young  man  with  interested,  friend 
ly  eyes. 

"  That's  all  very  well  about  the  quadrangle, 
Mr.  Reed.  It  certainly  is  beautiful  and  like  the 
English  Universities,"  he  broke  into  a  sentence 


A   GOOD    SAMARITAN  47 

genially.  "But  I  wish  to  talk  to  Mr.  Fairfax. 
I've  come  to  bring  you  the  first  news,  Mr.  Fair 
fax,  of  what  you  will  hear  officially  within  a  day 
or  two  —  that  the  vestry  of  St.  Eric's  hope  you 
will  consider  a  call  to  be  our  assistant  rector." 
Rex's  heart  almost  stopped  beating,  and  his 
smile  faded  as  he  stared  breathless  at  this  port 
ly  and  beneficent  Mercury.  Mercury  went  on: 
"  A  vestry  meeting  was  held  last  night  in  which 
this  was  decided  upon.  Your  brilliant  record 
in  this  seminary  and  other  qualifications  which 
have  been  mentioned  to  us  by  high  authorities, 
were  the  reasons  for  this  action  which  appeared 
upon  the  surface,  but  I  want  you  to  know  the 
inner  workings  —  I  asked  your  cousin  to 
bring  me  here  that  I  might  have  the  pleasure 
of  telling  you." 

It  was  rather  warm,  and  the  old  gentleman 
had  climbed  stairs,  and  his  conversation  had 
been  weighty  and  steady.  He  arrested  its  flow 
for  a  moment  and  took  a  long  breath.  "Don't 
stop,"  said  Rex  earnestly,  and  the  others  broke 
into  sudden  laughter. 


48  A   GOOD   SAMARITAN 

"I  like  that,"  Judge  Rush  sputtered,  chuck 
ling.  "You're  ready  to  let  me  kill  myself,  if 
needs  be,  to  get  the  facts.  All  right,  young  man 
—  I  like  impetuosity  —  it  means  energy.  I'll 
go  on.  The  facts  not  known  to  the  public, 
which  I  wish  to  tell  you,  are  as  follows.  After 
your  failure  to  keep  your  appointment  on  the 
evening  of  the  7th,  I  was  about  through  with 
you.  I  considered  you  careless  both  of  your  own 
interests  and  ours,  and  we  began  to  look  for 
another  assistant.  A  man  who  fitted  the  place 
as  you  did  seemed  hard  to  find  and  the  case  was 
in  statu  quo  when,  two  nights  ago,  my  son 
brought  home  young  William  Strong  to  dinner. 
Our  families  are  old  friends  and  Billy's  father 
and  I  were  chums  in  college,  so  the  boy  is  at 
home  in  our  house.  As  you  probably  know, 
he  has  the  gift  of  telling  a  good  story,  so  when 
he  began  on  the  events  of  an  evening  which  you 
will  remember 

Rex's  deep  laughter  broke  into  the  dignified 
sentences  at  this  point. 

"I  see  you  remember."  Judge  Rush  smiled 


A   GOOD   SAMARITAN  49 

benignly.  "Well,  Mr.  Fairfax,  Billy  made  an 
amusing  story  of  that  evening.  Only  the  family 
were  at  the  table  and  he  spared  himself  not  at 
all.  He  had  been  in  Orange  the  day  before,  and 
the  young  lady  in  the  case  had  told  him  how 
you  had  protected  him  at  your  own  expense  — 
he  made  that  funny  too,  but  I  thought  it  very 
fine  behavior  —  very  fine,  indeed,  sir."  Rex's 
face  flushed  under  this.  "  And  as  I  thought  the 
whole  affair  over  afterwards,  I  not  only  under 
stood  why  you  had  failed  me,  but  I  honored 
you  for  attempting  no  explanation,  and  I  made 
up  my  mind  that  you  were  the  man  we  wanted. 
Yes,  sir,  the  man  we  want.  A  man  who  knows 
how  to  deal  with  the  situations  of  to-day,  with 
the  vices  of  a  great  city,  that  is  what  we  want. 
I  consider  tact,  and  broad-mindedness  and 
self-sacrifice  no  small  qualities  for  a  minister 
of  the  gospel ;  and  a  combination  of  those  quali 
ties,  as  in  you,  I  consider  exceptional.  So  I  went 
to  this  vestry  meeting  primed,  and  I  told  them 
we  had  got  to  have  you,  sir  —  and  we've  got  to. 
You'll  come?" 


50  A   GOOD    SAMARITAN 

The  question  was  much  like  an  order,  but 
Rex  did  not  mind.  "Indeed,  I'll  come,  Judge 
Rush,"  he  said,  and  his  manner  of  saying  it 
won  the  last  doubtful  bit  of  the  Judge's  heart. 

The  Sunday  morning  when  the  new  assistant 
preached  his  first  sermon  in  St.  Eric's,  there 
sat  well  back  in  the  congregation  a  dark-eyed 
girl,  and  with  her  a  tall  and  powerful  young 
man,  whose  deep  shoulders  and  movements,  as 
of  a  well  fitted  machine,  advertised  an  athlete  in 
perfect  form.  The  girl's  face  was  rapt  as  she  fol 
lowed,  her  soul  in  her  eyes,  the  clean-cut,  short 
sermon,  and  when  the  congregation  filtered 
slowly  down  the  aisles  she  said  not  a  word.  But  as 
the  two  turned  into  the  street  she  spoke  at  last. 

"He  is  a  saint,  isn't  he,  Billy?"  she  asked, 
and  drew  a  long  breath  of  contentment. 

And  from  six-feet-two  in  mid-air  came  Billy 
Strong's  dictum.  "  Margery,"  he  said,  impress 
ively,  "  Rex  may  be  a  parson  and  all  that,  but, 
to  my  mind,  that's  not  against  him ;  to  my  mind 
that  suits  his  style  of  handling  the  gloves. 
There  was  a  chap  in  the  Bible"  -  Billy  swal- 


A    GOOD    SAMARITAN  51 

lowed  as  if  embarrassed  -  "  who  —  who  was 
the  spit  'n'  image  of  Rex  —  the  good  Samaritan 
chap,  you  know.  He  found  a  seedy  one  falling 
over  himself  by  the  wayside,  and  he  called  him 
a  beast  and  set  him  up,  and  took  him  to  a 
hotel  or  something  and  told  the  innkeeper 
to  charge  it  to  him,  and  —  I  forget  the  exact 
words,  but  he  saw  him  through,  don't  you 
know  ?  And  he  did  it  all  in  a  sporty  sort  of  way 
and  there  wasn't  a  word  of  whining  or  fussing 
at  him  because  he  was  loaded  —  that  was  aw 
fully  white  of  the  chap.  Rex  did  more  than  that 
for  me  and  not  a  syllable  has  he  peeped  since. 
And,  you  know,  the  consequence  of  that  mas 
terly  silence  is  that  I've  gone  on  the  water- 
wagon  —  yes,  sir  —  for  a  year.  And  I'm  hanged 
if  I'm  not  going  to  church  every  Sunday.  He 
may  be  a  saint  as  you  say,  and  I  suppose  there's 
no  doubt  but  he's  horrid  intellectual  —  every 
man  must  have  his  weaknesses.  But  the  man 
that's  a  good  Samaritan  and  a  good  sport  all  in 
one,  he's  my  sort,  I'm  for  him,"  said  Billy  Strong. 
THE  END 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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A  000920716 


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